With the increased use of underground utilities, it has become more critical to locate and verify the placement of buried utilities before installation of additional underground utilities or before other excavation or digging work is performed. Conventional digging and excavation methods such as shovels, post hole diggers, powered excavators, and backhoes may be limited in their use in locating buried utilities as they may tend to cut, break, or otherwise damage the lines during use.
Devices have been previously developed to create holes in the ground to non-destructively expose underground utilities to view. One design uses high pressure air delivered through a tool to loosen soil and a vacuum system to vacuum away the dirt after it is loosened to form a hole. Another system uses high pressure water delivered by a tool to soften the soil and create a soil/water slurry mixture. The tool is provided with a vacuum system for vacuuming the slurry away. While these tools may be useful, there use is limited to short vertical depths of about 15 feet since the strength of vacuum pressure that can be pulled through these tools is limited. In some of these tools, slots are formed through the wall of the tool adjacent to the end of the digging tool to allow air to be pulled into the head of the tool. However, the slots, while helpful, can become clogged with dirt and debris since the slots are usually pressed under the dirt or debris being vacuumed by the tool.